Mary Ruth Organics, a vegan vitamin supplement brand started in 2014 and has built its marketing strategy on the foundation of creator-driven content. This approach has fueled the business to well over $100 million in annual sales by creating a dynamic and engaging brand presence which resonates with their target audiences. By leveraging influencers, affiliates and user-generated content (UGC) creators, Mary

Ruth Organics has achieved significant success and continues to drive incredible growth in the health and wellness space.

We spoke with Wyatt Lowe, the Senior Director of Digital Growth at Mary Ruth Organics to dive into how Mary Ruth Organics works with UCG creators and the tools they use to support their efforts.

Creator-Driven Marketing Strategy

The marketing content engine at Mary Ruth Organics is heavily creator-driven. The influencer marketing team focuses on partnering with influencers and brand ambassadors to reach broader audiences. The performance marketing team partners with UGC creators to produce content for the brand's ads and paid social campaigns.

There is some overlap between influencer and UCG efforts as the performance team often utilizes influencer and ambassador content in advertising, making the most of high-quality content opportunistically based on usage rights. However, Mary Ruth has found success in working with UGC creators who produce high quality content specifically for use across the brand's owned channels.

Efficient and Cost-Effective Content Production

The team at Mary Ruth Organics finds UGC creators through platforms like Trend.io and Billo. Once they identify potential creators, they start with limited engagements to assess their performance. Creators who consistently deliver high-quality, timely content and demonstrate responsiveness are offered longer-term contracts.

This approach to separating influencer and UGC content is driven by cost-effectiveness and management efficiency. UGC content for ads is significantly more economical, allowing the brand to produce high-quality content at a fraction of the cost associated with influencers. This separation also aligns with the distinct budgets and responsibilities of the influencer and performance teams, facilitating better coordination and management.

“We can get just as good of content for a fraction of the cost. Because follower count doesn’t matter, this content is going to our prospecting and performance marketing audiences,” says Wyatt.

Transition to Lumanu for Payments

Initially, Mary Ruth Organics used PayPal to manage payments to their UGC creators. However, there are headaches associated with using PayPal, requiring significant manpower and coordination between the performance team, finance team, and the PayPal account manager. Additionally, PayPal's fees added up over time, making Lumanu even more attractive.

To streamline and centralize their payment process, Mary Ruth Organics transitioned to Lumanu. This decision was made to reduce the administrative burden on their finance team, consolidate payments into a single vendor and improve tracking and coordination.

“Lumanu will consolidate payments to one vendor, making our finance team's job much easier. With Lumanu, we no longer have to worry about tracking multiple payments and dealing with PayPal fees.”

Looking to the Future of Creator partnerships

Mary Ruth Organics' innovative approach to influencer marketing and UGC content has been a driving force behind their impressive growth. By nurturing relationships with both influencers and UGC creators, the brand has been able to produce authentic, engaging content that resonates with their audience.

One notable example of this strategy's effectiveness was when a brand ambassador organically posted about Mary Ruth's products, garnering 3 million views. The marketing team then amplified this post through paid advertising, ultimately reaching an impressive 50 million views. This demonstrates the power of leveraging authentic, user-generated content from brand advocates.

As Mary Ruth Organics continues to expand its product line and reach new audiences, their creator-driven marketing strategy, supported by efficient tools like Lumanu, will remain a cornerstone of their success. We plan to follow along with Mary Ruth’s journey and provide an update in a few months so stay tuned!